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Western Balkans Transitions and the Role of the European Union

  • Roberto BelloniEmail author
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Part of the Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies book series (RCS)

Abstract

This chapter discusses the main economic, security and political developments throughout the 2000s emerging in the region following the EU’s new, ambitious role. Although the region achieved considerable progress in all areas, hard-to-resolve problems continued to hinder the peacebuilding transition. Then, it focuses on the EU’s attempt to formulate a viable policy to address the remaining challenges. The contradictions and hesitations of the EU approach are identified and assessed. By the end of the decade the enlargement prospect became increasingly intangible. Western Balkan states became stuck in a grey zone between integration into the EU and isolation. They lived in a condition of ‘permanent transition’ without any certainty about their political future.

Keywords

Unemployment Crime Self-determination claims 
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© The Author(s) 2020

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Sociology and Social ResearchUniversity of TrentoTrentoItaly

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